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Senate Bill Recognizes Marijuanas Medical Uses

In a move that reflects America’s growing acceptance of marijuana as a drug for medical purposes, three lawmakers in the U.S. Senate have introduced a bill that would prevent federal prosecutors from cracking down on caregivers, doctors and patients in states where medical marijuana has been legalized.

The bipartisan legislation, unveiled Tuesday, would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug, a key step in acknowledging the legitimacy of medical marijuana. Unlike a Schedule I drug, a Schedule II substance is recognized as having an acceptable medical use. Through the same bill, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) also moved to amend federal law, authorizing states to set their own medical marijuana policies. Instead of legalizing medical marijuana in all 50 states, the bill essentially recognizes the states that have passed medical marijuana laws.

Medical marijuana is lawful in 23 states and the District of Columbia, and four states—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington—have legalized the drug for adult recreational use in spite of the fact that marijuana remains illegal for all purposes under federal law.

Other provisions of Senate Bill 683 would permit doctors in the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend medical marijuana to military veterans, as well as provide a safe harbor to banks and credit unions that offer financial services to marijuana-related businesses that are compliant with state laws. The marijuana industry has faced challenges maintaining relationships with financial institutions, which fear federal prosecution.

Finally, the CARERS Act could pave the way for further growth in the CBD market. Under the legislation, through an amendment of the Controlled Substances Act, specific strains of CBD or cannabidiol oil would be removed from the federal definition of marijuana. CBD is found in hemp and generally contains little THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, hemp experts say.

CBD has been found to relieve seizures in epilepsy patients, and the Epilepsy Foundation has hailed decisions that have authorized drug trials of CBD oil in a number of states. Eleven states authorize the use of CBD for medical purposes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers CBD a marijuana derivative and Schedule I substance that is being illegally sold. Marketers of CBD, which is found in hemp, argue the substance is lawful.

“The families and caregivers of children in dire need do not have years to wait for bureaucracies to sort out the safety and efficacy of a natural substance that we already know works," Paige Figi said in a statement. “We urge lawmakers across this country to free these families and let them do what is most basic to them as parents – care for their children."

The senators said the CARERS Act has the support of more than 20 health, veteran and policy organizations. Americans for Safe Access, a member-based organization that promotes legal access to medical cannabis, said the CARERS Act was introduced only months after Congress passed an appropriations bill that prevents the U.S. Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws.

"As the parents of severely ill children who could be helped by medical cannabis, we are dedicated to advancing safe, legal and viable access," said Maria De Gregorio, a parent leader of the Kentucky-based Parents Coalition for Rescheduling Medical Cannabis, in a statement accompanying the senators’ press release. "Rescheduling efforts must also guarantee access to whole plant extracts that have proven therapeutic benefits.

The legislation is likely to be opposed by such organizations as Parents Opposed to Pot, which said last year in an editorial that teenagers in medical marijuana states use far more pot than in other states. The organization also argues marijuana is a gateway drug to more hardcore substances such as heroin.